Feeding attachment for type-writing machines.



H. M. 121111011. FEEDING ATTAOI IMENT FOR TYPE WRITING MAGHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED 013T. 11 1909. RENEWED 001215, 1910;

PatentedJune 13, 1911.

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IV I/E IV 70/? WE /WM 50/10/14 WITNESSES ATTOR/VE Y8 APPLIOATION TILED OCT. 11, 190 9. RENEWED 00115, 1910.

Patented June 13, 1911.

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WIT/VESSLTS W 1 //W ATTORNEYS HENRY M. BURCH, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR TYPE-WRITING MACHINES.

Application filed October 11, 1909, Serial No. 521,977.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 13, 1911 Renewed October 15, 1910, Serial No. 587,314. a

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. BURCH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding At tachments for Type-lVriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in feeding attachments for typewriting machines, especially those designed for feeding envelops, telegraph blanks, etc., and it consists in the constructions, combinations, and arrangement of parts herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved device o er that shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 461,872, filed Nov. 10, 1908. One advantage over the form of the device shown herein is in providing an adjustablefeed so as to accommodate envelops or blanks of varying thicknesse's, so that they may be fed one at a time to a typewriting machine, automatically.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device in which an envelop or blank which is crimped whose surface, therefore, is not in a single plane, may be fed through the device and withas much oer-- tainty as envelops or blanks which are not crimped, and which, therefore, present a plane flat surface to the feeding member.

A furtherobject of my invention is to provide a device in which the feeding mechanism is of the simplest nature, thereby re- 'clucing the cost of manufacture, as well as the weight of attachment while at the same time producing a device that is positive in its workings.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the i novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application in which similar reference characters indicate like partsin the several views, and in which a Figure .1 is a front view of the device,

Fig. 2 is a plan view, Fig. 3 is an end view, Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Fig.

2, Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section along'the line 55 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a detail section along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a magazine or feed box comprising a front portion 1, a rearportion 2 and the end portions 3 and 4, respectively. As will be seen from Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the end portions3 and 4 have downwardly and forwardly projecting extensions 3, and 4, respectively. These extensions are provided with notches fi -3, and 4 4 for the purpose hereinafter explained. These extensions bear the respective friction rollers 5 and 6, which are journaled on the short shafts 5 and 6, respectively. On the extension 3 are also rotatably mounted the gears'7, 8 and 9, the gear 8 being a larger gear and meshing with the gears 7 and 9 on either side. Rotatably' mounted on the opposite end 4 are the gears 10, 11, and 12, corresponding to the gears 7, 8, and 9. The gears 7 and 10 are attached to a common shaft which bears the friction roller 12*, (see Fig. 1) which is provided with a friction surface 12. Secured to the front portion 1 is an upper L-shaped flange which carries bearings 13, 14, and 15 for the'respective idler rollers 16, 17 and 18. Toward the lower edge of the front portion are the downwardly extending hangers 19, 20, and 21, for the rolls 22, 23, and 24. The rolls 16, and 22 are connected by an endless friction band 25, which is preferably an ordinary rubber band. The rolls 17 and 23. are connected by a similar band 26 and the rolls 18 and 24 by the band 27. As will be seen from Fig. 4, the lower rolls are so arranged that the band is engaged by the roll on the friction shaft 12. v

The magazine or feed box is provided with a bottom 28, (see Fig. 5) which terminates short of the front. portion, thereby leaving a space 28 through which the en velops or blanks may be fed. Above I the bottom 28 is a false bottom 29 which is slidable on the'bottom 28, so as to regulate' the opening at 28. The construction of. this false bottom and the means by which it is adjusted, I consider one of the main features of my invention. Itwill be seen from Figs. 2 and 5 that the bottom 29 is provided with a central forwardly extending portion 29 leaving on each side thereof therespective recesses 29 and 29. The purpose of these'slots will be explainedin the Jperation of the device. The bottom 28 is provided with a slot 28 (see Fig. 6) through.

' the rod 34 passes.

its lower end. At the upper end is a milled nut 39. The opposite end of'the device is rovided with a similar rod 40 and adjust-- From an inspection of Fig. 2 it will be seen that the front member 1 is set in slots in the end pieces 3 and 4. It is held in this position by the screws36 and 37, (see Fig. 1) which pass through the flange 1 into the respective side members. By moving these screws the flange and front plate together with the friction rolls and bands may be.

removed from the device.

At one end of the flange 1 is a rod 38 which passes through the top part of the flange and is provided with a hook 38 .at

mg nut 41. The upper rear erid of the device is strengthened by a rod 42, just inside of the magazine and running longitudinally of the device.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. The machine is designed to be attached to the carriage of a visible typewriter, such as 1 the Monarch or the Underwood. When it 9 and 10, 11, 12, cause therotation is used with a Monarch. typewriter, the device, as assembled, is placed on the bar 43, the slots 3 and 4 fitting over this bar, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. If, it is to be used with an Underwood, the bar 44 is.

used, and thisbar fits into the slots 3 and 4". The hooks of the rods 38 and 40- are passed underneath the -rod 44 and the nuts 39 and 41 are-tightened, thereby clamping the device to the rod. The friction rolls 5 and 6 are allowed to'rest on the platen 45.

The attachmenteas thus. secured is carried along with the movementof the platen, and as the platen is rotated, the friction rolls 5 and 6 through the medium of the gears 7, 8, of the long roll 12*, and hence of the friction bands 25, 26, and 27, as heretofore explained.

The envelops 46 or blanks may be placed in the magazine by pulling outwardly on the rod 24, and then releasing the latter, when the envelops will be pushed forwardly against the member 1. The false bottom 29 is adjusted by unloosening the screws'30 and setting the bottom at the right distance by means of the rods 31, so that one envelop aitartime is fedthrough. The adjustment ace-nos;

depends, of course, upon the thickness of the envelop, but the bottom may be adjusted so nicely that thin blanks such as telegraph blanks may be fed through one at a time with certainty. If the envelop should happen to be crimped so that the ends ar bentoutwardly, it would prevent the envelop from being fed because of the engage-' ment of the ends with the bottom. I therefore cut away the bottom at 2.9 and 29, (see Fig. 2) which leaves the extended portion 29* that forms the regulating ortion of the bottom. After gaging the cevice for envelops of a given slze, the envelops may be placed in, as stated before, and the frictional contact of the moving friction band will cause the envelops to be fed one at a time to the platen 45. From ten to fifty envelops may be placed in this device. The ordinary movement of the typewriting machine in the act of addressing one envelop will cause the feeding of another one to take the place of the one drawn from the typewriting machine.

The guards 47 and 48 are attached to the front portion of the device in order to prevent an addressed envelop from striking the friction bands 25, 26, and 27.

The device is of light weight, about one and one-half pounds, and ma be readily attached and detached int e manner explained.

As stated, the device is automatic in its nature, having few parts, and being of comparatively simple construction.

I claim 1. In a feeding attachment for typewriters, a magazine having abottom provided with a feed opening, a false bottom slidably supported on said first named bottom, means foradjusting said false bottom to regulate the size of the feed opening, means, for looking said false bottom in its adjusted position, and feeding means arranged to move through said feed opening and to draw therethrough the articles to be fed, by frictiona-l engagement with said articles.

2. In a feeding attachment for typewriters, a magazine having a bottom provided with a feed opening, supported on said first named bottom, said false bottom being provided with a central extension adapted to regulate the size of the feed opening, and having recessed portions on each side thereof, means for adjusting said false bottom toward and away, from the front of the magazine, a slidable spring-actuated plate disposed above said false bottom for holdingarticles to be fed in position over said feed opening, and frict-ional feeding means adapted to move through said feed opening.

3. In a feeding attachment for typewriters, a magazine provided with a removable front plate, upper and lower feed rolls cara false bottom slidablytom for said magazine, a slidable false bottom disposed above said stationary bottom ,and having a central extension, said false bottom being arrangedfor adjustment to- Ward and away from said front portion, a spring-actuated plate arranged above said false bottom for holding the articles to be fed against said front portion, said friction bands being arranged to ass through the space between said false ottom and said front portion, and means for actuating said friction rollers.

Q. In a feeding attachment for typewrits ers, a feed magazine comprising a removable front portion, having friction rolls, friction bands carried by said rolls, said ortions having downwardly and forwardf inclined extensions, provided with slots, gears carried by said extensions, a friction roll disposed between the opposite extensions and arranged to frictionally engage said friction bands for moving the latter,

friction rolls carried by said downwardly extending portions and arranged to bear on the platen of a typewriting machine, the slots in said extensions being arranged to fit over the bar of the typewriting machine, and means for clamping the attachment to said typewriter bar.

5. The combination with atypewriter platen and bar of a feeding attachment for said typewriter comprising a magazine having slotted end portions arranged to fit over said bar, said end portions'being provided with friction rolls, arranged to; engage said platen, a removable front portion having friction rolls, friction bands carried by said friction rolls, means actuated by said firstnamed friction rolls for moving said bands, rods secured to said front portion having hooked ends arranged to engage under said bar, adjusting nuts on the upper ends of fiaicrrodsformlanrping said fron' n to the bar, and an adjustable bottom in said magazine for regulating the feed.

HENRY M. BURCH.

Witnesses SoLoN C. KEMON,

CHARLES A. Pn'r'rrr. 

